Supply Chain Technology Blog

PROFITsystems, aHighJumpproduct and leading provider of solutions for home furnishings retailers, unveils the top considerations for independent retailers to manage and design the showroom of the future. These insights, based on 40 years of success, empower companies of all sizes to meet the increasingly complex and growing demands of today’s omnichannel landscape and the consumer of tomorrow.

In the face of increased competition from ecommerce giants, Colony Brands turned to HighJump to streamline order fulfillment and jumpstart a same-day shipping policy.

Based in Monroe, Wisconsin, Colony Brands is a mail-order company that has shipped quality food, clothing, and household goods directly to customers across the country since 1926. And for most of its history, the company has relied on the same protocol for incoming orders — processing the whole lot in a single large batch every day.

In 2017, however, Colony Brands confronted a major challenge. Despite the steady flow of orders the company was receiving throughout the day, it didn’t have the infrastructure needed for same-day order fulfillment. If a customer ordered something after 12pm, Colony Brands was simply unable to process the order for same-day shipping.

Amazon has become such a critical source of revenue for countless internet retailers, distributors and manufacturers that it can afford to make up all the rules and leave it up to third parties to figure out how to meet them. Such is the power wielded by a retailer with 38 percent year-over-year revenue growth.

Just as you iron out the kinks in your omnichannel fulfillment strategy, the business comes to you with exciting news: your company wants to start offering same-day delivery. It’s your job to figure out how to execute on this new strategy to reach more consumers and drive more business from current customers.

More than two decades ago, Jeff Bezos founded a website with the belief that a centralized online model would be better for consumers and his business than physical stores. That website, Amazon.com, started with books and over the years has become a one-stop shop for anything you could ever want. The result is the most powerful online retailer in the world and one of the most influential companies on the globe.

HighJump has announced support for Seller Fulfilled Prime, Amazon’s program allowing retailers and manufacturers to deliver directly to customers from their own fulfillment centers. HighJump’s Warehouse Management System (WMS) empowers companies of all sizes to meet Amazon’s high performance criteria, enabling them to scale their businesses and provide the customer satisfaction to compete in today’s market.

As you process those final returns from the holiday rush, now is the time to evaluate your operations. When order volumes skyrocketed – especially on Black Friday and Cyber Monday – it probably unearthed weaknesses in your supply chain.

It’s impossible for retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers to deny the allure of Amazon Prime.

That checkmark followed by the five blue letters next to your product offer a massive opportunity – the kind that could change your business forever. Not only is the list of Prime members growing each and every day, but many of those members order primarily or exclusively items guaranteed to be at their doorstep in two days.